Playing cards



J. HOROWITZ PLAYING CARDS Filed Supt. 13. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 1Fig. 2 Fig.3

Oct. 13, 1925- v 1. 12

J. HOROWITZ 7 10:! Sept 13 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig Fig.8 Pig. 9

Oct. 13,1925. l.557,284

J. HOROWITZ PLAYING CARDS Filed Sept. 15. 1924 3 Sheets-Shut 5 I NV ENTOR. 3 M

Patented @ct. I3, 1925.

- JOSHUA HO RUWITZ, 0F BRUOIKJLYN, NEW YORK.

PLAYING- CARDS.

Application filed September 13, 1924. aerial Ito. 737,55b.

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, JOSHUA Honowlrz, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing Cards; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in playing cards and has for itsobject to enhance the interest in and the recreational and educationalvalue of standard card games by correlating the latterwith simulationsof plays, actions and developments of athletic games or exercises, towhich end the invention comprises providing each of the cards of astandard deck, having the suit and value markings thereon, withadditional characters, indicia or markings denoting a play or action ofan athletic game, said additions indicating an athletic scoring value ofa given play in a standard card game.

An exemplification of the invention, involving the coordination of astandard deck of playing cards with markings indicating the plays,actions and developments of a baseball game, is set forth in thefollowing description, predicated on the accompanying drawings, inwhichz- Fig. 1 represents the ace of clubs, to which has been added, atdiametrically opposite corners, the symbol 1B and the word Single,denoting that the batter in a base ball game made a single, or one-basehit at histurn at the bat, and is therefore entitled to the first base.In addition thereto the card bears centrally-positioned, pictorialillustrations indicative of the player making a single in a baseballgame, and safely reaching first base.

Fig. 2 represents the deuce of spades, appropriately marked, andillustrated to indicate a two-base hit.

Fig. 3 represents the trey of diamonds similarly marked and illustratedto indicate a triple, or three-base hit.

Fig. 4 represents the four of clubs, and a strike-out.

that the batter fouled-out to the catcher.

in each instance.

Fig. 6 represents. the 6 of diamonds and that the batter flied-out toright field.

Fig. 7 represents the 7 of clubs, and that the batter flied-out tocenter field.

Fig. 8 represents the 8 of hearts and that the batter flied out to leftfield.

Fig. 9 represents the 9 of diamonds and that the batter was given a baseon balls.

Fig. 10 represents the 10 of spades, and that the batter hit into adoubleplay.

Fig. 11 represents the 10 of diamonds, and that the batter hit a homerun.

Fig. 12 represents the jack of spades and that the batter grounded tosecond base and was thrown out at first base.

Fig. 13 represents the queen of clubs, and that the batter grounded toshort-stop and was thrown out at first base.

Fig. 14 represents the king of diamonds and that the batter grounded tothird base and was thrown out at first base.

Fig. 15 represents the back of the playing card, and, by the baseballparaphernalia illustrated thereon, indicates that the cards are adaptedfor utilization in playing the game of -card-baseball. Q0

Fig. 16 represents a method of playing solitaire card baseball.

Now referring specifically to the drawings, it is to be understood thatFig. 1 rep resents the ace of clubs, exactly as it is shown in all ofthe well known playing cards. The large representation of the ace is inthe center of the cards, and the letter A, immediately above a smallerrepresentation of the ace, is positioned in diametrically opposedcorners of the cards. In addition to these customary card markings,I-have placed on this particular cards the symbol 1B and the wordSingle, directly under the small representation of the ace .In additionthereto I provide pictorial matter which is illustrative of the actualbaseball play indicated at the corners of the card. In all instances theillustrations are placed as nearly as possible on the approximate centerof the card, and in all cases I prefer to show the representation of thebase-ball diamond, the bases, the players who participate in theparticular play being illustrated, and the ball and its flight or roll.In all the cards of an odd number, to wit, the are, a three, a five, ora nine, the illustration of the suit sentation of the diamond in thecenter of the card, as shown in 'Figs. 2, 4 and 10, or just below thecenter, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8.

The face cards the jack, queen and king also carry .the representationof the diamond and play, at the center of the card, as shown in Figs.12, 13 and 14.

The, athletic markings and representations carried by the cards are soprinted as to be considerably lighter than the regular numbers andsymbols of the ordinary cards, whereby not to interfere with theutilization of the cards in playing the usual card games.

Except as herein noted, the cards of the same denomination, such as allthe aces, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7 s, 8s, 9s, jacks, queens and kings, etc., havethe same baseball indicia carried thereon, it being noted however thatthe 10 of diamonds indicates a home run, whereas the other lOs indicatedouble plays; that three of the deuces indicate doubles or two basehits, and the club deuce indicates an out; that the heart and diamondtreys indicate triples or three base hits and the spades and club treysindicate outs. The deck of'cards, as described, is adapted to theplaying of practically all of the standard card games, such as casino,bridge, whist, euchre, pinochle, et cetera, according to the standardrules and modes of play governing the particular games and correlatingthe regular plays of such standard card games with the plays or actionsin or of a base ball ame, as indicated by the additional markings on thecards, the scoring being effected in terms of baseball plays or results,the object being for each player to make as many runs as possible andtoprevent his opponent scoring runs whenever possible. For example, inplaying the casino baseball game with two players engaged, the mode ofplay is the same. as that of the regular game of casino, the onlydifference being in the results represented. by the scoring, which arepredicated upon baseball plays, or actions, as the latter are indicatedby the successive and-sequential plays in the casino game. Four cardsare dealt face up upon the table, and four are dealt to each player. Thefirst player may take from the table any card of the same denominationas a card in his hand, that is, he may take a 6 with a 6, or aking witha king. Or he may take with a card in his hand any two? or more cardsfrom the table, if the total digit numbers of such cards takenaggregates the digit of the card which he has in his hand. Thus a playermay take a 4 and 3 with a 7, or 21.5, 3 and ace'with a 9, orhe may buildwith a card in his hand to add ntevzeaa to a card upon the table so asto aggregate the total of another card held in his hand. For instancethe player may hold a 3 and a 7 in his hand, and there happens to be a 4on the board. The 3 is a valuable'card, and he may place it on the 4 onthe table and declare that he is building 7. If his opponent has a seventhe opponentmay take the 3 and 4, otherwise the builder may take it onthe next play. After each player has played his four cards the cards aredealt out again and the pla continues. I

As thus far indicated, the play follows strictly the rules of the "gameof casino, but instead of scoring according to'the rules of said game,the scoring is made in terms of plays or actions in a baseball game,such as hits, runs, outs, et cetera, a practical eX-.

players, A and B, engaged, each is dealt four cards and,four cards aredealt-upon the table. A dealt the cards and it was Bs first play. Afterthe deal ithappened that there was a 4 and a 2 on the table, and B has a6 in his hand. The 6 indicates an a man, as is also the "4 spot; the 2spot is valuable however as a double, or two-base ing that Bs first manat the bat is on second base by virtue of a two-base hit.

It is-now As play, and he .finds a 7 in his I hand representing an out.Following the rule to take all hits or advantageous plays for yourself,and give all cuts or other disadvantageous plays to your opponent, Agives B the 7, placing it beside Bs 2, thus making B have a man onsecond base and one out. At this point Ahas none on base and'none out. Bplays next and, since there is no advantageous play to be made, places a.9 (base onballs) on'the table. A, playing next, happens to have a 9 inhis hand, and matches the 9 on the table, and places the two 9sin frontof him, one on top of the other, face up. This gives A a man on firstbase, and none out.

13 plays, andseeing'nothing in front of him to his advantage, plays a 3,indicating a three-base hit. A places an ace on the 3, and melds 4. Bhappens to have a 4 spot in his hand, and takes the 3 and ace built upby A. According tothe special rules of the game B now has the right touse any one of the three cards (the ace, the 3 or the 4) to his,'Bs,best advantage. He may'use the 3, the tri 1e, orace, advantage cards,for himself, ormay force his opponent to take the 4, which is adisadvantage card.

However B has a man on second base, and

uses the 3 to score him. He therefore places antennae right of the othertwo cards already in his score. He therefore has one run scored, and aman on third and one out.

A then places his A on the table, and both A and B have used up theirfour cards and A, the dealer, gives each player four more cards. It isstill Bs play, and he finds a 4: in his hand. Since no card may be givento an opponents score directly from the players hand, B takes the 4(struck-out) from the table, with the A in his hand, and gives A the 4spot, placing it next to the nine which A took previously. A then has aman on first base, and one out. A then plays and drops the 10 of spades(doubleplay) on the table. B has a club 10in his hand, and takes thespade 10 from the table and forces it upon A, making three out for thelatter, his cards reading from left to right9 spot (walked-wile man onbase); 4: spot-one man out, and club 10, double play-three outs and noruns.

Since B has only one man out, the innings play is continued by a newdeal. B still plays first and places a 3 (triple) on the table. A takesit with a 3, but has three outs and cannot use it, but cannot afi'ord togive it to B, and therefore discards it where B cannot use it. B table;A takes it with a jack, and gives it to B, making two outs for thelatter. B then places a 2 (double) on the table, on which there alsohappens to he a 5 (fouled out). A holds a 7 and takes the 5 and 2 Itherewith. Having the choice of using the 7 or 5, both disadvantagecards, or the 2, advantage card, he would ordinarily use the 2, but,since he has three men out he is now merely trying to prevent more runsfor B. He therefore places the 5 (fouled out) on top of the 7 and 2, andplaces it be fore B as the third out. Bs cards then read, from left toright :-2 (double) one man on. second base; 7 (out); 3 (triple) onescore in and man on third; jack (out); and 5 (out). Thus B made one runin first inning and A made none- The cards are then shufied and B deals,and so on throughout the full nine innings of the game. A regular scoremay he kept if desired, with the names of the players, and theparticular plays involved during the entire game.

The game may be played with three players if desired, but a card maybegiven to a player at the right only. In playing a 4- handed game theopposite players are partners, and each pair of partners represents ateam.

Tn playing pinoc'hle baseball, the standard pinochle deck, ranging fromthe ace to the nine and including the king, queen and jack of each suit,is provided with arbitrary denotations of plays or actions in a baseballgame, as hereinbefore described. For explaces a jack (out) on the basehit and four are marked @ut; three of the queens are marked Two base hitand five are marked Gut; two of the kings are marked Three base hit andsix are marked Unit; one of the tens is marked Home run and four aremarked Gut; four of the nines are marked Base on balls and four aremarked Uut; two of the jacks are marked Stolen base and six are marked@ut; and three of the tens are marked Double play. The method of playfollows strictly that employed in the standard game of pinochle. Thedealer serves his opponent and himself withtwelve cards, dealt three ata time, and then faces the next card, which indicates trump, and placesthe remainder of the pack face down at the edge of the trump card. Thevalue of the cards is indentical to that prescribed in the game ofpinochle, the highest one being the ace. followed by the ten, king,queen, jack and nine in order and a higher value card takes one of alower value of the same suit and a trump card takes any card played,except a higher trump- The order of play is that followed in the regulargame of pinochle and the player who takes a trick has the privilege ofmelding. Instead, however, of melding according to the pinochle count orscore, the melding is done in terms of baseball plays, actions ordevelopments, the ultimate object being for each player to obtain' asmany runs or favorable plays for himself as possible and to prevent theattainment of like results by his opponent. For example, the player whohas taken a trick has the privilege of selecting two cards of equalvalue from his hand, as, for instance, two aces, one of which is markedOne base hit and placing the two cards in front of him with the lastmentioned card on top, indicating that he has made a play resulting in aone base hit. Similarly, if he has two queens in his hand, one of whichis marked Three base hit, he arranges these cards as before, puttingthat with the three-base hit on top of the other and placing the twocards upon the table in front of him face up. If the player cannot findin his hand a combination or two cards which indicate a play or actionin baseball, advantageous to himself, but does holdtwo cards of the samevalue that indicate a disadvantageous play 6r action to his opponent,as, for-example, two jacks that are marked Gut, he withdraws the cardsplacing one on top of the other in front of his opponent, which scoresan Out for the latter. After melding, each player draws one card fromthe as in pinochle, the winner of drawing first and making the nextplay, after which he and his opponent have an opportunity to meld, thatis to say, to withdraw cards from his hand which indicate an adunuseddeck, the last trick in the latter game. For every twenty points thatone player has in excess of the other,

- the former is given advantage of an additional base hit. For example,if player A, at the end of a hand, has 145 in cards and B has 105 incards, As total is 40 more than Bs .and he'is entitled to scoreanadditional two base hit, and thereby advances any players that may beleft on the bases accordingly, the. state or condition of the game as to-men on bases being indicated by the cards face up on the tablebefore'the player. Each deal may be played as an inning, and the playmay be continued until the desired number of innings have beenconcluded, and the player accumulating the largest number of runs is thewinner in the baseball phase of the game. Obviously, if desired, theregulation pinochle score may also be kept according to the standardrules, thereby lending additional zest and interest in taxing the skilland ingenuity of the player in carrying on the two games simultaneouslyto the best advantage to himself. v

In playing this game A and B are playing. and A deals, as in stud poker,the first card being dealt face down or closedf- Each player looks athiscard without disclosing it to the other, and the second card is dealtto each face up. Suppose Bs closed card is a heart deuce (double) andhis open card a 6 (out), and the dealers open card is a -jack (out 213),A is still leading, because he has the higher card showin ,.'in accordance with the above schedule. The next deal gives Ba queen (out toshort-stop) and A aking (out to 3rd),.and A is still ahead. He thendeals B a 3 hearts, (triple) and himself an ace (single). B is nowahead, his triple being of higher value than, any other open card. Onthe next deal B receives an ace (single) and A a 3 diamond (triple). Thecards now showing for A are, from right to left; 3 (triple) A (single)king (out) jack (out) :1 run scored and a man on base. For B the cardsread 3 (triple) queen (out) ace (single) 6 (out) :1 run scored anda manon base.

Now calculating the runs scored and the position of the men on bases, wefind that each has scored a run and has a man on third, so that theteams are tied. ,Then figurin the highest out card, we find that it beongs to A with the king (grounded to third base). The runs and men 011bases are tied but A, is ahead of B by the schedule, on

mutate account of the highest out card, and without consideration of theclosed card. By reversing the closed card it is determined who is to winthe inning. It is found that Bs closed card is a heart 2 (double) whichscores his man from third base and .places a man on second. As closedcard is an ace (single) which scores a man placmg another on hrst base.Therefore B wins this inning and the game proceeds to conclusion.

The rules to determine the winner are:

l. The winner must have the greater number of runs, or of runners mostnearly advanced towards home plate. The five cards are calculated todetermine the. number of runs scored, or the position of the men on thebases. .The cards need not be figured in the rotation. in which they aredealt. If

the player were Jfirst given a diamond 10 (home run) and then an ace(single) he has the privilege of counting it as though they j weredealtin' the opposite order. In other words the player may advance his men asfar as possible to advance them with the 5 cards, just as if they hadbeen dealt him' in the rotation most advantageous to the player. i i

2. If no runs are scored, or tied, the-playcr who has a man farthestadvanced is the winner. If no runs are scored and the position of themenon the bases is the same,

the winner is decided by the highest out value, that is, the-kingrepresents a higher value than a queen; i

Solitare baseball (for one player).-After shulfling, the player holdsthe pack of cards,

facing downwards, and counts three cards from thetop. Holding the threecards together, he places them on the table with the bottom card faceupwards, on top of the other two cards, the two bottom cards notshowingand the top card representing the play of .the first batter. It Wlllslgmfy whether he received a base on balls, a single, double, triple,home run or any of the various outs. The next three cards are then takenfrom the top' of the deck, in a similarmanner and placed upon the tablebeside the first three cards; the upwardly faced bottom card determiningthe'play of the next player, and the deal-is so continued until threeare out. The game is continued as described above, until nine inningsarecompleted.

It iscustomary to keep a score of the teams, and, if desired, a regularscore card, with the batting order'of the two teams, as St. Louis vs.New York'may bemaintained.

:Solz'iare baseball (for two players).- When two play solitare baseball,the cards are divided equally, and the player representing the team thatis atbat, begins the play. Theprocess is the same asdescrlbed above. Theplayer takes three cards from play, except instead of takingthreecardsfacing upwards, the upturned card indicating the pla of thefirst batter; it being a single, or ouble'or out, etc., he continuesuntil three are out. Then the other player takes his turn at bat etc.,through the nine innings. The cards are'shuflled after every inning. v"

Solitaire baseball (for three pla era).- The game is exactly the same asw en two from the top, the bottom card of which would represent what thebatter did, only two'cards are taken from the top.

Solitaire baseball (four pla easy-Same as above, except one card is taen from the top, instead of two, representing what the batter did.

Many other games. are possible with my improved cards, the foregoingbeing referred to in order to. indicate several of the interestingpossibilities. It is also obvious that the cards may readily be adaptedfor.

use in playing tennis, baseball, elf or any other athletic games, thesymbo s and pictorial representations, and the rules of the games beingrevised accordingly.

Various modifications of' the arrangements and indicia carried b thecards may be suggested to those skille in the art, but

standard card game.

my invention covers all embodiments falling claims.

What I claimis 1,

1. A deck of playing cards each having the usual suit and value markingsthereon to efiect or indicate the mode of play of the standard cardgames and. each also having thereon the denotation of a play or actionin an athletic game indicating the scoring value thereof in the standardcard game-in terms of -'the athletic game.

2. A deck of standard playing cards each having the usual indiciathereon and each being provided with additional characters denoting aplay, or action in an athletic game, said additional charactersindicating an athletic scoring value of a given play in a fairly withinthe scope of the appende 3...A' standard playing card having the usualindicia thereon and provided with additional characters ormarmngsdenoting a play or action in an athletic game, said ad ditionalcharacters indicatin an athletic scoring value of a given play m astandard card game.

ture.

' JOSHUA HOROWITZ.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signa-

